Beyond Skin

This was different which is nice but it wasn’t that good to be and was pretty long

Not something i"d really encountered before. It was ok. 4-5 tracks in i was really enjoying it but by tbe end i felt there was too much to take in in one sitting.

Not for me.

Had no idea what to expect with this. Closest thing I can compare it to would be massive attack I guess, but Indian.... I'm not really sure what the theme was, but it seemed to mention nuclear weapons in parts? Lost on me whether it was. Interesting enough, but electronica generally isn't for me. probably around 2.5

Kind of artsy, trip-hop - very 90s. Some decent moments, but overall just a bit too pretentious for my tastes. Heard before ❌️ Listened this time ✅️ Revisit ❌️ ★★★☆☆(5/10) Total reviewed : 455 Already owned : 99 Purchased : 25 To buy : 3 Nope : 328

It's amazing how time can change your perspective because, if I had heard this back in the late 90s or early 2000s, I probably would have been a huge fan. Hearing it now, though, it's definitely a product of its time, almost like a time capsule. Overall, it's a very worldly, smooth downtempo album with the atmosphere of a rainforest. It's pretty much the type of album you'd listen to on a dark, cold, rainy night in the year 2000.

Very different. Didn’t love it

Very cool record. Nice to hear some international music

Very interesting album, lots of genres touched on. Indian music with light rap, new age, etc overtones. This album is supposed to be based on nuclear weapons (India vs. Pakistan).

More soundtrack than songs, maybe would grow on me with time but nothing memorable after one listen.

It's good enough.

After that listen I understand the wailing man on the cover.

Funnily enough I thought I had reviewed this album already! I think I came across it when I was looking over past Mercury Prize winners and nominees. It's not a bad album, but is a bit dated - I feel like this blend of genres and slightly pretentious, overly earnest songwriting was everywhere in the late 90s. There are some really great songs on here, but it is very hit and miss. Tides for example, is brilliant, but Pilgrim immediately before it has aged like milk. The first 3 songs are quite good. Some of the non-English songs I found to be more interesting than enjoyable. Overall it's a very listenable album, and undeserving of the amount of negativity on here I think, but not perfect. It's like an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach that gets a bit tiring after a while. Immigrant is a song that I completely vibe with the sentiment of, but the delivery just made me cringe. Overall it's a bit over-polished, cheesy, and too long.

I liked this, but wanted to like it more. The collaborators were uneven and downright spoiled a couple songs. But there's also some good trip hop beats, especially at the beginning of the album.

Makes me wish I was listening to Yeti Season...

I was worried when I saw “breakbeat” in the description but this was a nice surprise as an electronic album that felt genuinely attuned to Indian music. Overall I was not really drawn in but it’s a good album.

Great downtempo album, I really like the vocals on this one. Also the drums. Not sure why they decided to include the horrible rapping on "The Pilgrim", though. Hopefully this artist's other works are just as good, this album was great and I want to hear more from him. :3

Some of it I really like… but the rest… very uneven. But I think that is kind of his thing.

not crazy

found this creepy

Not for me at all

Never heard of this before - better than I would have expected if I'd known what it was. Still not really my sort of thing though.

Feels like an evolution of those IRS records of the early 90s

It's interesting, but interesting doesn't always mean that the record is good. There's a unique set of sounds here. Some hit and some miss. Favourite Track(s): Homelands, Immigrant, Tides Least Favourite Track(s): Nadia, Serpents, The Conference

Not my favorite album, but one of the more interesting ones

A very solid and enjoyable trip hop journey. Tides was a highlight for me but I didn’t hear a bad song on the album. I thought The Conference was hilarious and kind of brilliant… that’s how most of my conference calls at work sound to me.

Awesome album cover. A few songs are pretty interesting - The Conference is fun. Other than that it was an hour I won't get back.

moody sophisti-pop lounging boutique store music with a lot of South Asian motifs. kinda feels like someone found a bunch of cutting room floor scraps of A Tribe Called Quest's backing tracks, then overlaid a bunch of jazz / world music samples. definitely a bloated album but it wasn't a terrible time listening

hatte mich mehr als ich anfangs dachte. bin ja eigentlich nicht so fan von electronic, aber dieses auf migra gehen und fusion hat mich!

Some (most?) were pleasantly interesting. A few mildly annoying but we’ll let those pass

Is this someone's, ANYONE'S, favorite album? I mean it can't be, right? Why is it on this list? This is one of thise albums where you wonder (hope) to yourself if you just listened to the last song. And that started with the 3rd song for me.

Pretty eclectic and overly long mix of oddities that ranged from meh, did not care for, to ugh, definitely did not like, to geez, make it stop.

Chill.

Very nice and etherial for the most part. Quite enjoyable

What the hell was that pseudo intellectual bullshit.

Some tracks were ok but too many were so bizarre I skipped them.

This started out as a 4, since it reminded me musically of Zero 7, but it went downhill somewhat after that.

It was different and unique

Too many weird, random noises

This is way better than I expected. I found it fascinating and novel. Also Tides had a strong Vince Geraldo vibe without being derivative. Enjoyed this.

Sawhney ist britischer Musiker mit indischen Wurzeln, und Beyond Skin von 1999 entsteht größtenteils dort, wo er zu Hause ist: im eigenen Spirit Dance Studio. Ein paar Mixe laufen bei Tony's, die Postproduktion übernehmen die Whitfield Street Studios. Erschienen ist das Ganze bei Outcaste Records – klanglich irgendwo zwischen Downtempo, Drum and Bass und den südasiatischen Klangfarben, die Sawhneys Musik seit jeher prägen. Was mich am meisten packt, ist der Bogen des Albums: „Broken Skin" öffnet mit einem Sample zur indisch-pakistanischen Atomkrise, und am Ende zitiert „Beyond Skin" Oppenheimer aus der Bhagavad Gita. Dazwischen liegen „Homelands", mit seiner fast schwebenden Vocal-Linie von Nina Miranda, und „Nadia", bei dem Sawhneys Klavier die programmierten Beats erdet. Es ist selten, dass ein Album so schwere Themen trägt, ohne dabei die Leichtigkeit im Klang zu verlieren – hier gelingt es. Die Aufnahme war ein Erfolg: Mercury-Prize-Nominierung, South Bank Show Award, später ein Platz in „1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die". Ich frage mich manchmal, ob ein Album wie dieses heute noch genauso ankommen würde – die politische Wucht hat sich verschoben seit 1999. Aber die Musik trägt trotzdem, auch ohne den zeitgeschichtlichen Kontext. Beyond Skin funktioniert für mich am besten als Album, das man nicht nebenbei hört.

Enjoyed the first 2 songs then it took a turn and I liked the totally originality and mix of genres and languages.

DNF. There is some nice stuff, but it’s mostly covered by samples and garbage.

An interesting listen, a bit uneven as far as enjoyment for me

Interesting concept. I understand why this album is on this list.

Trip hop is one of those genres of music that came from the 90s but one way or another has managed to stick around into that patented early 21st century sound. Beyond Skin is a concept album about the disasters of nuclear weapons and uses the blending of South Asian and 'Western' music (though electronic music to me is more universal even if it started in the west) as a way to illustrate that it's a global problem rather than a national/political one. At 343 albums in, Beyond Skin is maybe one of the more unique albums I've heard on this list thus far (at least for first impressions on never hearing it before, otherwise ...Endtroducing probably is the "most unique"). Maybe part of that is that trip hop's time in the music mainstream kind of waned off in the 2000's and music of that type isn't as commonly released as its own genre but rather blended into other genres, or that its themes are an evergreen story until that story concludes at the hands of a few, dangerously powerful people in charge of nations. It does not matter what group of people or how they present themselves to each other in clusters of masses behind racial or national lines, when the bombs go off, we're all going to go. This album felt very poignant compared to the mindless fun many other 90s albums were having, especially the care free rave/drum and bass/techno/house/etc scenes that were huge at the time. Nitin Sawhney manages to turn electronic music around into a more overtly serious and existential lens that might have had themes or subjects brushed upon for a song or so in a KLF song or something. Certainly a lot more grave feeling than a Prodigy album or any rave song.

There's limits to how much I can clown on something that's better than any music I'll ever make, but that doesn't mean I have to pretend I enjoyed it. It's a little too late-90's world music cool.

This is a great album. It's alternately interesting and cool and beautiful. The first 3 tracks were my favorite but there's stuff to like all over this. The fusion of Indian music, drum and bass, electronica, and downtempo is turned compelling here.

Great individually but a wee bit disjointed

Enjoyed bit of this, liked Immigrant!

Good

5/10

Whoa, surprising, ambitious and heart-wrenching. Nitin Sawhney takes the late-‘90s penchant for applying the new electronic fad to every music genre possible, but applies it here tastefully and in support of the gorgeous Indian classical music dominant in much of it. There is also a wonderful female singer who really belts on more r’n’b-type numbers, tho I could have passed on that musical style. And then the ambition of the project: the nuclear threats of the India-Pakistan conflict, envisioning the worst outcome and telling the story *backwards* from devastation to initial geopolitical tension. We feel the impact, loss and pointlessness. It’s not a 5 for me bc it’s probably a one-and-done listen, plus a couple misplaced r’n’b tracks. Respect, though.

Three stars enjoyed some of it disliked some bits very different vibes throughout the album

нормалек, претензий нет, кое-что сохранил.

🌎🫯🎹🎧🗺️

Интересный и концептуальный трип-хоп с восточными мотивами. Приятный для фонового прослушивания, но не оставляющий после себя цепляющего послевкусия.

Feels like this one’s a bit all over the place. Starts off pretty nicely, some trip-hoppy stuff, then some ethno-influenced hip-hop, a Disney ballad, Indian stuff… would need more listens to get a coherent pic of this. Some cool moments, but I’m mostly just confused.

Bien.

I just could not get into this. Another scenario where it sounds really cool on paper, trip-hop with Indian influences, but this was just dull and felt like it took the least interesting parts of its sources. "Homelands" was really the only track that grabbed me at all.

It's got some moments where it does something unique, but for a listen it's a little all-over-the-place, playing the fields of both "cool" and "not great"

I used to take a lot of interest in the Mercury Music Prize and around this time, I listened to the majority of nominees just on the strength of their being nominated. It did throw up some excellent discoveries (Gomez of course being the obvious one) but they also liked to show off their diversity and unconventional chops by selecting albums like this one. I listened to it once and was pretty confused so I never bought it and haven't really thought about it since. Listening to it this week, I'm once again pretty confused. I respect the fact they've thrown so many influences and ideas together, but most of the time it just doesn't work. At its best, it's quietly pleasant and soothing background music with a bit of a trip-hop beat. At its worst, it's a piano doing something plinky and unremarkable under some bland English singing, while someone does some Indian-sounding warbling and wailing over the top. In potentially a totally different key. I feel someone behind an engineering desk should've just cut it off and suggested they try something different. A quick check of the 1999 Mercury tells me that this was up against Blur's outstanding '13', The Chemical Brothers' psychedelic underdog career highlight 'Surrender' and Underworld's peak LP, 'Beaucoup Fish', along with albums by Beth Orton, Faithless and Stereophonics, among others. And they all lost to Talvin Singh's appropriately titled, 'OK'. Which I also awarded an aggressively middling 3 stars out of 5 on this challenge. Ho hum.

An interesting listen. A clash of styles and cultures. I can imagine several of these tracks ending up on Café Del Mar compilations. Not exactly a cohesive album and worth the listen.

Wierd 90s house bolly mashup

3/10

The Conference made me feel like I was in an elevator with two annoying bitches after taking some designer drug I found on the floor of a second rate club I stumbled into

Meaningful, artistic, versatile…. But I hated listening to it for some reason. But I think that’s on me.

Not really for me. It was fine, but nothing I'd come back to. 2.5/5.

Awesome discovery, so many genres and cultures merged into one!

This is an album that exists, it didn’t really stand out for me

odd

Really enjoyable

It was alright. Overall the production was amazing, just not something I see myself revisiting.

I am not sure that this album is going to draw a huge following due to it's uniqueness but I found it to be really engaging with a blend of South Asian and jazz influence. Really enjoyed this album with many political overtures.

Talvin Singh called. He wants his lick back. This is such a weird record. It’s like a collection of sounds from ALL over the place, then suddenly jumpscares into a Hallmark movie/hotel lobby. And the raps?? Bro what is happening. I can respect the sounds and the variety of expressions this record offers. It’s unique. I just can’t really wrap my head around what it is I’m supposed to be feeling. Where am I? My head is all over the place literally and figuratively. The vibes are changing too much for this to even be background ambience man. It’s down right jarring at times. I digress.

Trip hop really took over the world in the 90s. It’s the grunge version of Electronic for sure. This is interesting in a post nuclear war world how can we create culture and live knowing that we have also made life so fleeting. This has such beautiful Indian soundscapes yet it drags on heavy during the back half. I will say the end of this album makes it all worth it. What a way to bring it all together. Why did Oppenheimer use Indian culture to signify the end of the world how does that change public perception of the Bhagavad Gita. Clearly it is resonate through the music itself and it brings a level to this that even more artistic.

Didnt know his producing work but im amazed! Great album! Just didnt think the album cover was that good…

Beyond Skin Nitin Sawhney 1999 Genres: Electronica Styles: Trip Hop, Downtempo, Drum N Bass 1. Broken Skin (★★★☆☆) -Contexto: Según el propio Sawhney, la canción trata sobre "la enfermedad por radiación", aunque el resultado suena como una canción de amor perdido. Abre el disco con un sample de un anuncio del gobierno indio sobre pruebas nucleares, y funciona como punto de partida del "viaje hacia atrás en el tiempo" que estructura el álbum. 2. Letting Go (★★★☆☆) -Contexto: Balada de tono introspectivo, con uso destacado de sonido de lluvia y coros corales que contrastan con la contención del resto de la canción. No encontré declaraciones específicas del artista sobre su letra ni un análisis lírico confiable; el tono general (según reseñas) es de resignación o desprendimiento emocional, coherente con el título ("Dejar ir"). 3. Homelands (★★⯨☆☆) -Contexto: Con la voz de Nina Miranda y coros del Rizwan Qawwali Group, es de las canciones más asociadas al tema de la identidad diaspórica/migrante que atraviesa el disco. El título mismo ("tierras natales", en plural) remite a la experiencia de pertenecer a más de un lugar a la vez, algo que Sawhney desarrolló explícitamente como tema central del álbum. 4. The Pilgrim (★★☆☆☆) -Contexto: Hip-hop introspectivo con el rapero canadiense Spek. Una de las frases de la letra dice: "La vida es como un rompecabezas sin armar todavía. Podría tomar un pueblo entero para verlo. No rompas tus lazos, encontrá a mi compañero, el compromiso" — sugiere una reflexión sobre el propio camino personal/espiritual (de ahí "el peregrino") y la necesidad de conciliar tensiones internas. 5. Tides (★★☆☆☆) -Contexto: Instrumental (con piano y contrabajo destacados) que abre con un sample de audio real sobre Francia realizando una prueba nuclear subterránea. Retoma así el tema nuclear del álbum de forma más abstracta y atmosférica, sin letra cantada. 6. Nadia (★★⯨☆☆) -Contexto: Cantada en hindi por Swati Natekar, la letra repite frases como "Nadiyaan bairee bhayein" / "Mora sainyaan bulaawei" / "Sune naahin", que se traducen aproximadamente como una mujer (Nadia) que llama a su amado a cruzar el río, y él no puede oírla. Es una canción sobre la distancia y el anhelo por alguien inalcanzable, contada en clave folclórica india. 7. Immigrant (★★☆☆☆) -Contexto: Es, junto con "Homelands", el tema más citado como corazón temático del disco. Aborda directamente "la difícil situación de los desposeídos" (como la describió un reseñista) y la experiencia migrante; se apoya en samples hablados sobre inmigración. Es la canción que da nombre, 22 años después, a la "secuela oficial" del álbum, "Immigrants" (2021), lo que confirma que el propio Sawhney la entendía como núcleo temático del disco original. 8. Serpents (★★☆☆☆) -Contexto: Tema atmosférico con instrumentos de viento de sonoridad "encantadora de serpientes" (según varias reseñas) y voces con eco. No hay declaraciones documentadas del artista sobre su significado lírico específico; el tono es hipnótico y algo inquietante, con estructura de largo desarrollo ("build"). 9. Anthem Without Nation (★★☆☆☆) -Contexto: El título ya es programático: un "himno sin nación", coherente con la postura de Sawhney de definirse como pacifista y "británico-asiático" cuya identidad no depende de fronteras ni banderas. No encontré un análisis lírico verso por verso confiable; el tono, según reseñas, es solemne y de intención casi ceremonial. 10. Nostalgia (★★☆☆☆) -Contexto: Tema más corto y de tono más pop/trip-hop dentro del disco. El propio título indica una mirada hacia el pasado o hacia un lugar/tiempo perdido, en línea con el tema general de desplazamiento y memoria del álbum, aunque no hay declaraciones puntuales de Sawhney sobre esta canción en particular. 11. The Conference (★☆☆☆☆) -Contexto: Tema breve y experimental, descrito por oyentes como el más extraño del disco, con diálogo/interacción entre dos voces. No encontré contexto verificado sobre su contenido lírico específico; su función parece ser la de interludio conceptual dentro de la narrativa del álbum. 12. Beyond Skin (★★☆☆☆) -Contexto: Cierre del disco y de su "viaje hacia atrás en el tiempo": termina con Robert Oppenheimer citando el Bhagavad Gita tras la primera prueba nuclear de 1945 ("Ahora me he convertido en la Muerte, destructora de mundos"), la escena con la que Sawhney eligió resolver —sin resolver del todo— la tensión entre identidad, violencia y pertenencia que atraviesa todo el álbum. -TOTAL = ★★⯨☆☆ (2,17) -No sé qué hace en una lista de los álbumes más influyentes, porque la verdad que suena mediocre, mal ejecutado.

Interesting album, both musically and lyrically. I much liked.

This surprised me where it went musically.

Really interesting, some of the songs I really liked

I can’t settle on a score for this, some songs are really good but I’m not too fussed on others. They remind me of early massive attack at points which is a plus. Just about gets a 4

Bro

Some decent moments in here, interesting mix of styles, which is both its uniqueness and, in spots, its downfall.

Too much

This album was not what I was expecting, and then when I thought I had it figured out, I was wrong again.

Ok. I'll let it slide. This is weird. But not necessarily bad. Very British. I mean I like the message but this is just kinda weird. Prolly not playlist music. Very Punjabi. Wait I'm actually really rocking with this one. We got the same homelands. Ok Frank Ocean. This is pretty good actually. Oh wait. This is such an odd experience. Wait really good instrumental actually. Wait hold on. What is this melody. Oh man. Don't hurt em Mr. Sawhney. Wait this is actually good hold on. Ok second act of this album is really good. Fucks hard one could say. Jai Hind. I feel like this would maybe be a lot more impactful if I could understand it. Favourite: Homelands/Tides/Immigrant Least favourite: The Conference

Artistic and stylish

nnnooooo thank you

Ok

Developed a headache while listening to this, but may be unfair to attribute cranial pressure entirely to the confusing juxtaposition of so many disparate elements. No actually, it's entirely fair. Different, but not really successfully.

Even the write-up about this album doesn't have much in-depth discussion on the quality of the album. I did find out that Nitin Sawhney is a pacificist and his music documents the beginning and ending of war. Something to that effect. I must ask what is this album doing that feels noteworthy? I guess there is some Indian influence in the music, but I thought that's why Khalil was in the book for that reason. The anti-war and documentation of nuclear war is compelling and interesting. I just have had enough drums and base in this project to last me a lifetime. Beyond Skin starts off decently enough during the first few tracks but then gets to where it feels monotonous to me in the tracks that follow. At times, Serpents sounds like the Minions are singing the song as Ron Burgundy plays jazz flute in the background.

I liked this. It nice to hear something different on this list. I had never heard of this or the artist, but I felt like it was a great addition. It really sounded timeless, with great influence from a range of different cultures that all worked really well together. Would listen again

Really quite liked this, can't think of anything else which is similar. Enjoyed all the songs, some more than others, but didn't feel as old as it is at all. Surprised I haven't heard of it before.

Really nice electronic album, some songs of absolute genius but others that annoyed the hell out of me. Well produced and I like the way each song flows into the next

4.5

Idk weird did not enjoy

I am terrible at writing reviews, so it's good trust me.

It's not terrible... But it's also tediously protracted. At some points I think it would be good restaurant music, then ruined by some silly samples.

This could have been on the 1001 albums that you could listen to if you ran out of other albums to listen to. I really didn't need this one.